Head of R&D – Microbiology & Strain Engineering

Company Description

BacAlt specializes in converting post-harvest waste into value-added biopolymers. These biopolymers have applications across various sectors including textile, skincare, wound care, and agriculture. Our innovative approach focuses on sustainability and creating valuable products from waste, making a meaningful impact in multiple industries.

Job Title

Head of R&D - Fermentation and Strain Engineering

Department

R&D Department

Location

Bangalore

Qualification

PhD / M.Tech in Biochemical Engineering, Microbiology, or Industrial Biotech

Job Type

Full-Time

As

Head of R&D , you’ll drive innovation at the core of BacAlt’s technology. You’ll lead a team of scientists and engineers working on :

Bacterial strain improvement & fermentation optimization

Growth kinetics, flux modeling & process scaling

Development of novel products from γ-PGA and BNC

Experimental design & data-driven decision making

Bridging lab-scale science with pilot & commercial scale execution

Own the full R&D roadmap — from lab bench to pilot transfer

Apply advanced

fermentation kinetics ,

statistical modeling , and

instrumentation

for yield and cost optimization

Guide

strain engineering

efforts (mutagenesis, adaptive evolution, CRISPR)

Design smart experiments using

DoE

and analyze results using tools like

R, Python, or JMP

Collaborate with MSAT, Product, and Manufacturing teams to ensure scalable, robust process handover

Mentor and build a strong R&D team with a startup mindset